How to Restore an Old Photo

[KathyC]

I've been asked by a friend to restore an old photo - as old photos go this isn't too bad but there are a lot of scratches on the faces of the subjects. I remember reading something about layering when doing restorations but I can't find it.

Is there a step-by-step written procedure somewhere here that I can follow to restore this photo.

Thanks,

Kathy

[Diana]

Hi Kathy,

Your image is really not that bad. A simple Dust & Scratches filter should take care of most of the scratches.

From the menu: Filter > Noise > Dust & Scratches will take out a lot of the unwanted scratches, however it will affect the whole image, making the features of the children blurred.

There is a way around that by using a Mask to apply the effect to just part of the image. Elements doesn't have its own layer mask, but you can borrow a mask from an Adjustment Layer, with these instructions:

Ctrl-J to duplicate the background layer

Apply the desired effect to the duplicate layer (use the Dust & Scratches effect I mentioned above - try Radius of 2, Threshold of 6, or whatever takes out most of the scratches)

Click on the original background layer to make it active

Click on the Create Adjustment Layer icon in the layers palette (looks like a circle that is half white & half black)

From the menu that pops up, select Levels, make no changes, click OK

Click on top layer, press Ctrl-G to Group with Previous

Click on the Mask of the Levels Adjustment layer (the white square to the right of the histogram thumbnail)

Press Ctrl-I to Invert the white mask to Black

Using the Brush tool (select a soft edged brush), with White for your Foreground color, paint on the image where you want the effect to be revealed (such as the background and any of the scratches on their clothing, etc.)

It is very important that you have the Mask part of the layer active in the layers palette before painting on the image, or this won't work.

Hope this helps.

Diana

[KathyC]

Diana, you were right - I used the Dust - Scratches filter and the picture turned out just fine. Thank you.